For your reading pleasure here is the latest  review of Issue #120 by R. Graeme Cameron. If you are not a subscriber and want a copy, just let us know by the CONTACT US link, and we can send one. Or go to Weightless Books to order a digital copy.

We have news that On Spec VOL 32 No 3, Issue #121 has been delivered by the printer and will be in the mail to subscribers by next week! Compelling fiction by authors such as Jean-Louis Trudel, Erik Bundy, Colleen Anderson, Ziggy Schutz and Kat Siddle. Plus a great cover by Herman Lau.

Prepare to be dazzled!

We just received a note from Dave Truesdale  of Tangent Online to let us know that Issue #120 has been read and reviewed by their reviewer. Of course the reviews for any collection of diverse stories may be mixed, but it is always interesting to see another person’s take on the stories we select.

Happy New Year! We, of course, don’t know how many of our followers and/or subscribers are writers, but we feel a bond with you all. You may not realize that most of the On Spec editorial staff are also published writers and/or editors, so we totally understand the hopes and dreams that your story will some day appear on the pages of your favourite magazine.

One of my favourite writers and bloggers, Chuck Wendig has some very good thoughts to start the year off well, because all we can do is look ahead for better times.

Seek joy in the writing. 

Fondest wishes to all our readers, writers and supporters for better days ahead. 2021 may have taken Desmond Tutu and Betty White from us, but we will always remember their legacies.

And Lorna, I will always miss you.

-Diane-

We at On Spec, are saddened to report of the passing of Douglas Barbour on Saturday, September 25. Our relationship with Doug goes all the way back to our very first issue in 1989, when he graciously agreed to be part of our Editorial Advisory Board and lend his name and reputation to an upstart little Edmonton magazine.

There will be many heartfelt tributes to Doug in the coming days and weeks, and his contributions to our genre will live on.

Good day everyone!

We are happy to present a review of On Spec VOL 30 No 4, Issue #114 that is available on the web site for the wonderful Amazing Stories. After you read the review, we bet it will be very tempting to order a copy of the issue, so you can see for yourselves!

Just sayin’

Club House Review: Onspec #114

OK, so yesterday, I just gave a totally unprepared speech to thank the Canadian SF&F community for voting On Spec this year’s Aurora Award for Best Related Work!

Many, many thanks to my absolutely fabulous team of editors, designers, social media folks and of course the amazing writers, poets and artists who have sent us their work over the years that On Spec has been in publication.  We are proud beyond words to give them a respected showcase for their creations. 

My thanks to the great folks on the Aurora committee for organizing everything over the years, and to the fabulous team at When Words Collide who made the online presentation of the Auroras a part of their great virtual convention. It has been a fabulous weekend.

And it goes without saying that we are grateful to the folks who voted for us. The other nominees in our category were equally deserving.

And a special thanks to author Cory Doctorow, a winner of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Society. Cory, who has had an amazing writing career, was gracious enough to mention not once, but TWICE, that his first fiction sale was to On Spec.

Just wait until you see the cover and contents in our next issue.  It’s with our designer even as I write this.

Live long and prosper,

Diane

Good day! It’s a sunny, August day here in Alberta. Many of us are feeling down because this is the traditional weekend for the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. I used to go off and on over the years, especially when our daughter was young enough to carry along. Haven’t been there recently, because a little upstart convention in Calgary took over the weekend and it was always a toss-up to see what I chose.

But the Folk Festival was always deep in my heart. And I just finished watching a lovely documentary that was created by local filmmakers to celebrate the EFMF and its years of hard work and great music.

And then I checked my email to see the newest newsletter from the British fan site, SFCrowsnest. If you haven’t seen it or subscribed, you are missing something. Over the years, their kind reviewers have been great friends to us at On Spec, but I’m not biased. The site is just that good. So check them out.

Enjoy your August, and keep those masks on. We need to beat this thing.

Stay well,

Diane